Saints
by Lord Shen the Great
Summary: He's dead. The Dragon Warrior has fallen, and evil has risen itself in the form of an unstoppable dictator. Some of us were meant to run and hide from terror, others are meant to run straight into it. I was meant to be a warrior. I will fight for China's life or give it mine. -Fang, Leader of the Freedom Fighters Coalition. Next Update: 9/15
1. In the New Age

** - Clocks**

(Shifu)

It's cloudy outside, and we haven't seen the blue sky in three years. There's a thick layer of condensed fog above the village, making it difficult to visually observe. There's hardly anyone in the streets; there used to be dozens. Buildings are destroyed, some are still barely standing. And it is hard to believe that this could have been so much worse than it is.

I snap myself out of my ominous trance and glance back to the front of the noodle shop. It reads 'Mr. Ping's' on the archway above the front entrance. I sigh to myself and walk back inside the formerly esteemed eatery.

As I continue to walk through, I notice a few people eating at the tables. There's never really this many people eating here anymore, but it's not as if concerns me to wonder about it.

I finally manage to drag myself to the back of the shop and push the door open. Inside the kitchen, I see a few figures working somewhat lazily. There's of course Mr. Ping, but then there are the others. My former students.

Viper and Mantis. They were both chopping vegetables, Viper slicing and Mantis skinning them for her. Their faces are gloomy, and distant. Ping is not as enthusiastic as he use to be. Not since the incident that occurred those three long years ago has he shown a smile.

I remembered when Mr. Ping offered us to work for him after the incident, and he still seemed somewhat joyful. But then again, he hadn't heard the whole story of what happened that day. Any of us in that condition would have been the same as he was when he found out what happened. I still feel incredibly sorry for him.

Remembering that I was there to see someone, I acknowledge their presence with a calm wave and climb up the stairs to the second floor. I peak my head over the top to examine the room roughly. Not a single thing has changed about it.

Posters of kung fu masters nailed to the walls, throwing stars embedded into the cracking drywall, action figures of the furious five set untouched on the dresser. It is as it was when I last left it.

I step onto the wooden floorboards which squeak slightly. On the bed near the closed window was someone that I needed to see. She is still sleeping soundly, and her breathing appears to be normal, thank goodness. Her pink robes look clean, so she must have gotten up sometime earlier to change her cloths. At least she is moving. I step forward some more and the floor squeaks again, causing her to wake from her slumber. I quickly pick up the pace of my steps and kneel down beside her.

Her fox figure is facing me while she lies on her side. Her amber eyes flicker open and look at me squinted. She manages to crack a weak smile at me, which crushes me a little inside to see her try so hard to give me the impression that she's happy to see me.

"Shifu..." she calls to me weakly.

"How are you feeling, Mei Ling?" I ask her quietly. She swallows roughly and looks back at me with those beautiful yellow spectacles again.

"I'm doing better than before." It's a lie, obviously. But I don't want to deny her and call her out on it. She wouldn't have the energy for that anyway.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm okay, Foofy." There's that ridiculous name she calls me again. At this point, it doesn't bother me much. It's actually nice to hear, it reminds me of better times, when we were young.

"Okay," I respond with my paw on the side of the bed, still knelt down.

"How are the others?" she asks faintly, her voice slightly cracking.

"Viper and Mantis are downstairs with Ping, and the other three are off at..._his _grave." It pained me still to say that. Over three years and reminding myself of him hurts still. Mei Ling must have noticed the pained look on my face.

"He was a great student, Shifu," she tells me as I grip the side of the bed even harder. Then I remember what I was gripping onto. I force a small smile.

"You know...this was his bed...before he ever came to the palace," my voice manages to creak out. I close my eyes, trying to forget what took place on that fateful day, but I can't. I suddenly feel a warmth upon my face. It's the fox I came to check on, pressing her sweet lips on the side of my face. She pulls away and lays back down.

"He did what he had to do, and you should be proud of him," she whispered to me as she began to slowly drift back into a slumber. My smile grows a little bit wider. I rest my hand on her face lightly.

"I am."

I don't want to take my eyes off her, but I pull myself to do so. I began to walk out of the room back to the stairs. I take a final look to at her over my shoulder. She's fallen fast asleep again, her breathing still appears to be regular, and she doesn't seem to have been moving around too much. I manage to crack a small smile as I descend back down to the kitchen.

Mei Ling came to the Jade Palace again about six months before all this started. She had come back looking for refuge from the Imperial Army and thought that I would provide her a hiding place. At first I wanted nothing to do with it, and why wouldn't I? After the stunt she pulled the time she came before, I should have wanted nothing to do with her. But she still somehow managed persuade me into letting her stay in the spare like she had last time. I guess whenever I look into her enchanting yellow eyes, she can fold me to her will. But maybe it wasn't just her. Perhaps I wanted her to stay there with us. With me. I knew she was a thief and a liar, but a part of me knew that there was that innocent part buried deep inside herself.

After the army gave up their search for her, she promised that she would leave the palace in a day's time. I should have been okay with her leaving, but again I managed to let my soft spot for her get to me. The next night, she was all set to leave. Her bags were packed, and I checked to make sure there weren't any of the palace valuables in them. She was about to walk out the front gates, but I stopped her. I asked her to stay for a while longer, to which she jumped at the offer. I don't know what got into me, but I guess she just has the power to make me say anything.

The days became weeks, and the weeks became months. Before I knew it, things were back to how they were when we were but young students. Though she still had the habit of thievery every once in a while, I was able to convince her that she didn't need to steal and that all she needed was something else to consume that need. And I guess I turned out to be that filler.

She's been sick for three months now, I'm running out of options. I've tried most of the known remedies and even some healing techniques to help cure her of this illness she has, but nothing has been successful yet. I just hope she can pull through.

I reach the bottom of the stairs to have Viper look at me with a glint of worry in her eyes. I turned my attention to her with my hands in front of myself, trying my best to keep a straight face.

"How is she doing, Master?" she asked me, slithering closer to me. I walk past her and to the front table where I pick up where she left off.

"She says she's doing fine, but it's hard to tell anymore," I answer, chopping the freshly skinned beats.

"Well, I'm sure she's fine like she says she is."

"I hope so, Viper."

Viper is another person I'm grateful for in a world like this. She has always been concerned about others and almost never about herself. Everyday, she will ask everybody if there's anything she can help them with or if anything was wrong. She's always been the mother hen out of the group of us. Even through all this despair and sadness, she still manages to find a way to be the kind, caring serpent she is.

I wish I could say the same for the rest of us.

* * *

(Tigress)

I never thought that the day would come. Yet, I'm standing over his resting place right now.

Crane and Monkey look worse than I do. Their faces were long as a mile, and they couldn't hold back a few tears. But it's not like I can say that I don't look similar.

We've already lain flowers on his headstone, they're lotus's. We stand there, still trying to erase the memory of his death, but it's a perfect imprint inside our heads. We must've all been thinking the same thing; "Why couldn't it have been me?"

It's a stupid question to ask, though. We all knew why it had to be him. He was the only one that could have saved us from that monster. Yet, he still lost to the monster. It was in his death that all our hope had gone, as did our friend.

"I'm...going to go back to the shop," Crane managed to squeak out of his beak. Me and Monkey both looked at him for a moment and saw his condition. He looked as if he couldn't stay there anymore. He just needed to get away from it. We all needed to get away from this place.

"Here, I'm coming with you," Monkey said as he and Crane turned around and walked away. They left me there alone, maybe they knew I needed a moment by myself. If they did, I'm grateful for them.

Why did Po have to do it? Why did he insist on risking, and ultimately giving his life for an already doomed land? I told him, and practically screamed at him not to leave us. But, it's not like he's followed any of my orders before, so why would he start then? At least if he hadn't gone to fight him, he would at least be suffering with us, not leaving us alone like this. Maybe that's a selfish way of picturing it, but that's how it feels to me. Like he left us to hurt alone. I know that isn't true, but it's the only logical conclusion I can come up with.

I press my paw against the dirt that lay on top of his grave. The soil is cold and rough, like the way I treated him when we first met. If I had a chance, one chance at all to speak to him one more time, I'd tell him that I was sorry. For everything I ever said about him. I truly did treat him like nothing when he came to the palace, and all because my stupid pride and jealousy insisted on speaking for me.

But the truth is...I miss him. Too much to describe. I grew fond of his kind nature, his caring personality, and even his goofy smile that he would strut around with for the entire day.

I take another look at his headstone that I've already read a thousand times. _Here lies the Dragon Warrior, Po. He shall never be forgotten. Rest in Peace._

I do something that no one has ever seen me do before; I give the tombstone a gentle kiss.

It is days like this that make me eager for death to arrive. I can't wait to see my friend again.


	2. The Handsome Devils

**The Handsome Devils**

(Shifu)

I take the bowls of soup on a single tray and deliver them out to a small family of goats. They look down and weary, but then again who didn't these days. Their cloths were tattered and torn, and it appeared as if this was going to be the first time they had a solid meal in weeks. I set the two bowls of soup at their table for four. Unbelievable.

This is all Kahn's doing, all of this. That wretched monster should have been the one six feet under. Ever since that hellion became the emperor of China it has all gone downhill. Everyone either lost everything or barely has anything left after the day he came to power. He's ruled this country like a demon, and his opulence has made us all suffer.

And the worst part of it is...I could have stopped him. If only I had just been a little faster, a little bit stronger. Maybe I could have put a stop to him! But it's too late to think of the past now. All I can do is try and keep my students and myself alive. That's all can do. But I swear, if I ever get a chance to end that wretch, I will not hesitate to do so.

I began to walk back to the kitchen. I could hear the father of the family tell them to eat because it would be a long time before they get a meal like that again. I sigh sadly and push the door open to meet Viper, Mantis and Ping all still cooking. I pull another tray out from underneath the table and wait for the next order.

My eyes catch the sight of three figures, all very familiar to me. Tigress, Monkey, Crane. They were at the graveyard longer than expected. They all came in with expressions that showed they had been crying, even Tigress.

Tigress. I think she's the one that's been most affected by Po's passing. She finds it hard to show her emotions to anyone, which is understandable. It's my fault she's like this. I should have treated her more like daughter, not just a student. But since Tai Lung...I've never wanted to make that mistake once again, but maybe I could have made things different than before. I could have prevented her from being so...scared.

Everyone thinks she's fearless. That's not true to any extent. She is afraid of being afraid, if that makes any sense. Tigress has always been the one that needs to prove to me that she could be a good daughter, and I could see that. Unfortunately, I was too afraid of making the same mistake, so I neglected any serious fatherly activities with her. That's not to say I neglected her completely. I still raised her, but I never gave her the attention she needed. Now, she is how she is. Hard, enclosed to herself, and scared. She has always been afraid; of rejection. Because that's what she was used to as a girl. She was if anything... numb.

Then came the Dragon Warrior himself, Po the panda. Aside from the obvious flaws in why he would be a good choice in the first place, Ooguay had seen the true thing inside of him that none of us could. It took me a while to realize it, but while Po wasn't mentally or physically capable in the first place, he had the one trait that truly mattered: Passion.

Po showed such a great passion for kung fu, and that had driven him so far as to face China's greatest foes without fear. Well, maybe 'without fear' is stretching it a little, but he still stood up and fought them for what he cared about. That's why Po was meant to be the Dragon Warrior.

When Po and Tigress became comrades, Tigress showed an immediate disliking of him. Tigress was not the jealous type, but I believe the reason she wasn't fond of Po...was that she envied him. Not his fighting abilities, not his "lucky" choosing of being the Dragon Warrior, but his ability to care. Po was always the one that would have your back, or listen to your problems and even try to solve them himself. And Tigress liked and hated that about him, because she could never do it. And that is my fault, my fault alone.

But, even though Tigress wanted nothing to do with him, she grew a very special bond with him over the years. A bond that could be broken by anything except his own death, and because Po was her rival, he was also her best friend even if she doesn't want to admit it. I don't know how, but that panda broke through to her.

The my three student approach the kitchen door, heads still hung low when I see a large figure enter through the front behind them. It's one of the Quan-Lo guards, Kahn's army men. They can easily be picked out by their apparel; a black set of armor with a red star on the chest. This wolf fit the description perfectly, the typical red star guard.

He withdrew his sword from his scabbard on his side and pointed it out the front entrance. He huffs a large breathe, and yells into the shop of unsuspecting people.

"Alright everyone! Let's move! It's time for Lord Liang's weekly address. Out to the front of the Liang Tower! Move it!" he yells, the echoes rebounding of the shop walls.

Liang, one of Kahn's right hand men. And the 'Liang Temple'? A massive building that stands five-thousand feet tall, five hundred stories to be exact. It took two years, four thousand innocent workers, and three forests worth in lumber to construct. And it's resting place...where the Jade Palace used to reside.

And the worst part? There's six more of these monstrosities scattered across China, one for each of Kahn's second in command. And all located on former kung fu temples and palaces...

The five, Ping and I all gather into our own group and begin to slowly shuffle out the exit. I'm extremely skeptical of leaving Mei Ling in the shop, the guard could tear this place apart until they find her and sentence her to death...all because she didn't attend one assembly. But dragging her out of bed in her condition will just make her suffer more, and I won't be the one to cause her that pain.

As we exit the noodle shop, we can see more and more people being forced out of their homes and into a large cluster. We all begin to march up the thousand steps, slowly but steadily. The climb is brought to a halt when we reach the final few dozens of steps and kneel with our heads bowed. There's a podium at the top where Liang would come out to give his 'announcements'.

There had been about five hundred or so kneeling down, waiting for the blasted feline to come out. After a few more moments, Liang had came through the monstrous double doors in the front of the tower. The grey puma strolled out to the podium without haste and stood straight up with his hands on the edges of the wooden structure. His guards patrolled around us to make sure we were all staying in place, not itching to make a move at him, which most of us really wanted to.

The feline cleared his throat in his fist and looked at us with a menacing grin before he spoke. This is normally where I tune out anything he has to say. It's normally just a bunch of garbage that doesn't concern us whatsoever. I'd rather sit here and think about Mei Ling. I hope she's okay.

* * *

(Tigress)

How long has this buffoon been talking? It could be fifteen minutes or fifteen hours, I can't tell the difference. I can barely understand anything Liang's saying, not like I want to. I guess I'm focusing on other things right now, like why in the world aren't I strangling this coward, choking every last bit of life out of his soulless existence. Because the rest will pay for my actions, and I can't let that happen. I could easily overpower the guards and reach Liang in seconds...but I can't take the risk, and I won't.

I sit there, the obnoxious feline's sentences turning into massive blurs in my ears. He really needs to shut up. I'm trying to focus on anything, anything at all that doesn't relate to this stupid announcement. I have nothing better to look at than the massive structure we all face, it's dim shadow casting itself over us all from the sun managing to barely shine through the thick layer of clouds in the sky. This building pretty much touches the sky.

I look up to the top floor, it's almost skimming the clouds. But something catches my eye around the center of the tower, about two thousand feet high. I have to adjust my pupils to see clearly, but it is still hard to guess. Wait, now I see...it appears to be...a few black dots dancing? No, wait...it's...people? It is! It's a few men or women, climbing up the tower! What the heck are they doing?!

Wait a minute...they're entering through the windows...are they breaking in?

* * *

(Kai)

I don't know how much longer we have. This self indulgent jerk could take hours to finish flapping his jaw, but I still don't want to stay here for too long.I look up in front of me. The other two are taking to long to break open those iron bars. They need to hurry or else we are going to be spotted by the Quan-Lo.

"Cho! Tao!" I call out to the brown Labrador and panther respectively. They look down at me as they hold onto the window firmly. "Pick up the pace. We could be found out at any moment. And I'm getting tired of looking down at my possible death."

"I'm almost through..." Tao tell us as he uses his bare muscles to pry the metal bars open. "Got it!" he cheers as he slips through first, followed by Quan then me.

I drop down about ten feet to find the wooden floor surface below. The other two are clinging to the wall to avoid detection from any guards that may be in the vicinity. I observe the room thoroughly to find that we had broken through to a weapon workshop of some kind. It was a little dim aside from light coming from the window. No one happened to be in there, lucky us.

"Okay, let's move. We need to find the place where all the letters, documents and scrolls are kept," Cho reminds us. His habit of cracking the knuckles in his fingers began to kick in as we proceed towards the door at the end of the room. Tao tiptoes to the door and cracks in open slightly, peeking through to see if there was any guards in the hallway. He looks for a moment before he sticks his paw up and raises two digits. Only two? Most of them must be down at Liang's address.

"We should be able to sneak past them," Tao suggests. Me and Cho shook or heads in agreement. Tao slowly opened the door, making sure not a crack was made. We all crouched down and crawled our way out of the workshop and down the opposite side of the hall where the goons weren't facing.

Liang's guard budget must have been small, 'cause these guys were near clueless of our presence.

The three of us began jog quietly down the hall. We've learned to keep a low profile when stealth assignments like this are given to us, and man has it become a great skill to have. We keep running down the hall until Cho begins to sniff the air. I can tell he smells something wrong, but he acknowledges it before I do.

"Quick! In here!" he whispers loudly while shoving us through a door and locks it shut. Me and Tao sit there on the ground quietly as our canine comrade leans against the door with his back to it and his ear pressed against the wall. We begin to hear a large group of guards trot along, all speaking in awkward voices. We sit there until we can't hear them anymore and blow a sigh of relief.

"That was a close one," Tao says as we stand up from the ground.

"We got no time for close ones. We need to find that document room," I remind him.

"Well, it appears..." Cho began to assert, drawing our attention. "We have found what we've been searching for."

We examined the room to find that we had stumbled into or objective location. There were wooden cabinets up against the wall with a desk and chair in the corner.

"Okay, I'll search cabinets, Kai can look in the desk, and Cho can watch the door," Tao planned out for us, to which we all agreed once again. The others get to their positions while I go to the desk and begin to rifle through the drawers.

My search is going useless. I haven't found a single piece of information that could deem useful for our cause. I can't return back to Fang without something that will help us gain any knowledge of the Quan-Lo. He's counting on us...counting on me to bring him something of importance, and I don't want to let him down.

"Hey," Tao calls out, holding a scroll above his head. "I found something. It looks like a list of some kind...It's a list of the Quan-Lo leaders!"

"Hey!" we hear from the door way. It's a leopard soldier with a crossbow! He's about to shoot Tao!

I was about to sprint from the table to that trash aiming at my comrade and put him down. But before I an even twitch, I see a skeleton ax fly through the air and pierce itself into the attacker's neck from the side. I look over to see Cho with his arm extended, aimed at the feline. He runs over to the body and forcefully digs his hatchet out. He then looks at the both of us reassuringly.

"I've got you, but you may want to speed it up a bit," he tells us.

I continue to search hurriedly through the draws again. Nothing. I begin to lose hope of finding what we need. I begin to get angry. My fist tenses up in fury, and I find my self punching the chair of the desk next to me. It collapses into reassembling pieces when something in the pile catches my eyes. It's covered in dust, but I pick it up and brush the age off. It appears to be a book of some kind. It was about an inch thick, the black cover made the text on the front painted in white, it said "EARTH". I check inside the front cover where I find a small note. The note reads "deliver to Lord Kahn".

My lips cress a small grin while the book is stuffed into the back of my pants. This book must contain an importance of some sort, but that is for Fang himself to decide.

"Okay, that's enough," I announce to the other two, who give me a glance of uncertainty. But they nod away and we follow our footsteps back out the hall.

We pass through the workshop again and through the bent bars of the window. We manage cling to the surface with our claws. Cho withdraws a grappling hook with a rope tied to it from his vest and aims it at a large tree we can barely identify from the two thousand foot altitude. He takes a deep breath and chucks it down. We can't see if it hit its mark, but Cho pulls on the line tight to make sure the hook dug into the lumber of the tree.I grab onto the robes tightly and quickly slide down to safety, followed by Tao, then Cho.

As I slide down the rope, I only have one thought on my mind: How did we end up in this position?

**Info you probably don't care about: I will be returning to Deviant Art to post more visuals of my stories via cell phone. Send reviews, questions, or just criticism to help me. Thanks**


	3. Take Me Under

**Hello. I hope you've been enjoying this story so far. If you are looking for more character info, I'll be posting bios on my profile tonight. Read&Review. Stay Awesome.**

**Take Me Under**

(Tigress)

What are they doing? What were they doing in there? More and more questions race through my mind at a million miles a minute. I can see the three figures descending down a slanted line, disappearing into the forests below. The line now goes limp and is left to hang on the side of the building; they must have cut it.

Why did they break into Liang's temple? Were they looking for something? It's not like I should be asking these questions. What they do doesn't concern me to any extent. I have nothing to do with their business. But who were they? That's the question I want answered the most. But again, it doesn't matter. They could be high-class thieves or just figments of my imagination. That sounds reasonable. In this day and age, people will think of anything just to keep their sanity...or at least remain mentally stable.

But still...if they aren't just my brain messing with me and they are actual people, what was their purpose for being there? Are they there for a greater importance? And if so, are they here to help? If they had to break in, then they probably were after something they shouldn't have been. I wonder that if, they are here to help, then maybe I could be of some assistance to them.

I haven't felt useful in over three years. It's not like I don't have the right to. The only thing that I ever truly loved or was ever good was taken from me, so yeah, I do feel helpless. What would I be thinking if I followed them? It's not like I could provide any use for them at all. I'm too out of shape, and my skill have probably worn down over the years; my fighting skills would be average at best. I'm not as tough as I used to be either, plus my abilities would be sub par in comparison to theirs if they have any. I'm pretty much good for nothing.

What's gotten into you, Tigress?! Are you seriously doubting yourself? Wow, maybe I'm not so stable after all. Yet, maybe I am disapproving myself too quickly. I was a kung fu master, after all. Yeah, and plus, what am I to be scared of? Am I scared? No! Absolutely not! I have never been scared and I never will be.

I begin to see everyone dispersing and walking back down the stairs. Finally that blubbering idiot shut his trap. I get up from my knelt position and begin to follow everyone down the stairs.

We all shuffle down the large set of steps, each one getting longer and longer. I look over my shoulder at the spot I saw the three strange figures. Why don't I just follow them and see what they're about? It wouldn't be hard to track and follow them. All I have to do is find the angle at which the rope was positioned and follow it to where they landed. Then, uncover their tracks and catch up with them. So, why aren't I? I snap my head back to the front of me to find my answer.

Shifu. Crane. Viper. Mantis. Monkey. And even Mr. Ping. If I were gone without them knowing, even for a couple hours, they would worry too much about where I was. That would be selfish of me, to let them suffer because I wanted to look for some mysterious guys that may not even exist.

My straight face frowns deeply at the fact that the people I care about most in this world, are also the ones holding me back. It's terrible to think about my friends like that, but it is the truth. I give up on my hopes of following them, until I remember something...something that Po told me, within his last hours of life.

_"Tigress, people like us are meant to take risks like this so no one else has to. You know that, and I know you know that. This is my risk, not yours."_

Po. You took that risk. You taught me that we need to risk it all sometimes, even if it is for the stupid things. Huh, I guess you were the king taking risks for something stupid. But maybe now...it's my turn to be stupid.

I look down at Shifu and tap his shoulder lightly, getting his attention. He stops and looks up at me, his bright blue eyes shining at me.

"Master Shifu," I speak quietly, making sure not to alert anyone that may have been eavesdropping.

"Yes, what is it, Tigress?" he asks, now fully turned to me.

"I think I'm going to spend a little more time with Po," I lied. I can't let him know what I'm doing, he may disapprove, and that's the last thing I need on my conscience. He looks at me with a faint smile.

"Take your time. Just please be back before nightfall." Shifu has always been understanding, which makes it even more stressful that I'm doing this behind his back.

"Thank you, Master," I say as I bow to him. I suddenly remember something: Mei Ling. She's still feeling ill. It would be inconsiderate of me not to ask how she is doing. "Oh, Master. How is Miss Mei Ling doing?" He gives me a feign smile this time.

"She's...doing better." That's a lie, but I don't want to worry him anymore than he probably already is.

I never really have had a real bonding connection to Mei Ling. I've never truly been fond of her either. I guess I just never completely come to like former criminals, but she is important to Shifu, so I guess I must at least pretend to get along with her.

I give Shifu an understanding nod and begin to walk down the steps in the direction of the graveyard. I slow my steps dramatically and let the others pass. They don't seem to notice my intentional slowing and walk right past me.

Now for the guards. They're normally eyeballing the crowd pretty well, so sneaking past them won't be a casual stroll. I'll need a distraction of some sort. I begin to pat myself in hopes of finding something of use in my pockets. Drats, nothing but my money pouch. Wait...maybe...

I pull out the money from my pocket and dump it into my open paw. Hmm, thirty-seven yuan. That's plenty. I clutch the money in my paw tightly and begin to mix in with the rest of the crowd. I made sure that the guards were only a few feet behind me so that they wouldn't see me slip over the edge of the stairs. In one motion, I toss the bunch of golden coins on the ground, letting them scatter across the stone pavement. Suddenly, everyone in a thirty foot radius heard the clang of the money hitting the ground immediately dove over to it, causing an all out mosh pit for the gold. It became such a brawl that the ten last guards in the back of everyone had to run in and intervene, struggling to break up the fight. Just as I planned. Now, to make my move.

As soon as the last guard sprinted past me, I shuffled over to the edge of the staircase and peered over. I take another glance at the brawl to make sure no one saw me. Yup, just as I thought. Too obsessed with money to notice one person go missing. I swiftly swing my body over the edge with my right claw dug into the side and begin to slowly slide down the near vertical surface.

I feel the rush of air blow past my face. It feels nice, to break free like this. But I suddenly remember how sloped the surface was, and immediately snap back into reality. I have to keep my weight shifted towards the mountain or else I'll fall, and that won't feel too good. I keep doing as my instincts tell me as I begin to descend quickly to the ground. I'm coming in too hot, I'll need to improvise.

Okay, that'll work. Just before I hit the ground, about seven feet from it, I pounce from the slanted wall by planting my foot on it and pushing off. Right before I hit the ground now, I tuck my head under my legs and barrel roll on the ground and land on my feet.

Well, at least my judgmental skills are still intact.

I dust off my outfit of any dirt or debris. I loo up at the hill to see my claws had dug into the surface deeply. Hope no one notices that.

Okay, let's focus. Now, to find that rope.

* * *

(Cho)

I'm still a bit skeptical about leaving that rope there. Anyone could find it, which means that the Quan-Lo could be on our tail as well. But, the Quans have never been too observatory, so they wouldn't be too tempted to look for tracks.

Well, I guess my skepticism reaches my thoughts at times. It's not as if they WILL find us, it's just possibility that I fear, even if that chance is slender to none. But, I digress. We should be safe.

Tao and Kai walk ahead of me on the hidden path back to the Coalition encampment. It's silent, no one utters a word at all. They both seem to be lost in their own worlds; Kai appears to be studying the book he found back at the tower, and Tao was doing the same with the scroll he found in that cabinet.

I haven't got much else to do but examine my ax while we walk. I feel it's black metal surface with my thumb, and slide it across the blade without pressure. No blood is drawn; it needs to be sharpened again. Is it really so silent and unamusing here that I insist on cutting myself? I guess so.

I look at Kai, and it appears he's staring at the book strangely, squinting his eyes and biting his lower lip. He's frustrated. I wonder what he's reading in that book. Tao isn't having any easier a time either. He's giving the same look at the scroll, but instead he's biting his thumb.

"This...makes not...a single ounce...of relative sense whatsoever," Tao grumbled as he continues to grip the open scroll tightly.

"Here, Tao. Let me have a peek at it," I offer my assistance, to which he looks over at me and hands me the scroll.

"Go nuts. This thing is hurting my brain."

Tao has never been the patient type, or the intellectual type either. He's always the one we have to give instructions to simply, or else the entire job could end up ruined. Yet, he shows a promising acquisition towards being able to be a...complete utter nuisance. That's probably how he got into the Coalition in the first place. Fang must have seen the panther's annoying personality as an advantage for us. Because, as Fang had said when he signed him as a member, "Annoying's bigger and better older brother is Distracting". Hmm, I guess he was right.

However, Kai is a completely different story. Unlike him, I knew Tao before 'Death Day', three years ago. We even worked in the same clothing shop. I knew Tao as a friend before the Coalition was even formed. But Kai, he's is someone I am not so familiar with. I met the leopard about a year ago, and the only three things I've noticed about him is his seriousness, lack of conversation, and his short fuse. I noticed his temper when he had a sparring session with Tao, and of course, Tao lit his fuse within seconds. Even though Tao had won, I could see the anger and fire he let out in Kai's attacks. He doesn't tolerate foolishness easy, but I guess that's an upside for us as well.

I now take a glance at the scroll and immediately understand why Tao was so confused. The names of the leaders were all written with arrows pointed towards words written horizontally from them:

_Tian - Heaven = ?_

_Shao - Blood = ?_

_Kor - Earth = Fong Abandoned Mining Cave - RETRIEVED_

_Sang-Fo - Death = ?_

_Jhong - Love = ?_

_Fuan- Nay - Nature = Xing-Tay Jungle - NOT RETRIEVED_

What are these listings supposed to mean? They leave me puzzled and confused. Why would Liang have a list like this? Each of the Quan-Lo leaders, minus Liang and Kahn, is mentioned here with their names pointed to a word.

Kor, the current ruler of the Land of Sand to the North, has his name pointed to 'Earth' with it being labeled, "RETRIEVED". And Fuan-Nay, ruler of the Valley of Wood, is pointed to 'Nature' with it labeled "NOT RETRIEVED". Then there's these locations...it's all too confusing, but I feel that as if I had one little clue, I could uncover a piece of it. Just a small tear in this fabric, I could rip it open.

"I can't flip heads or tails on its purpose either, friend," I tell Tao, who now is snacking on some peanuts he must have had stored away.

Did I mention he eats constantly?

"Well, maybe Fang will have something in his bag of tricks to decode it," he says aloud, tossing another nut into his mouth. I nod at him turn my attention back to the scroll once again. I look over at Kai again. He's closed the book now, and he's staring at the title.

"Say, Kai?" I ask politely. He turns over to me, his brow raised to me. At least he's calmed himself. He looked very frustrated at the book. "Do you mind if I see that book for a moment?"

"Uh, yeah sure," he says while handing it over to me.

"Thank you."

I have the book in my left, the scroll in my right. The book's title reads, "EARTH". Hmm...Earth...wait... Earth! What did the scroll say about that word again?

_Kor - Earth = Fong Abandoned Mining Cave - RETRIEVED_

Yeah, that's it! Kor has something to do with this. This book must be what the scroll means when it says 'Earth'. Then there's these locations...Wait, the locations...they must be where the book was found! That makes sense!

"Hey, guys!" I call out. They look over at me confused as to what I would be yelling about. "This book and this scroll may have something to do with each other!"

I show them the scroll and book and point out what they had in common. Then, I told them my theory about them, and how it made sense to me. They came to nod and understand completely where I was coming from.

"Now, this is all just speculation," I remind them. "But these may have a grave importance to the Quan-Lo." Kai lets out a long breath, and exhales while staring up ahead the path.

"Let's let Fang decide about that."

* * *

(Tigress)

I found them.

A leopard, lab, and panther. They aren't imaginary, they're real, and I've been following them about an hour now. It appears they have a book...and a scroll with them. Is that what they found in the temple? I don't know, but that isn't my main objective at the moment. I need to remain invisible, undetectable. I need to find where they reside, so I can have a good idea of what they are about.

Wait, they're stopping. They look around one last time and all give each other a quick nod. There's nothing out here. I've followed them all the way out to the bottom of a mountain known as Wong Mountain. It's known for being a large summit covered in foliage and vines. It's even been called the Hill Hidden in the Leaves. Why would they stop here? There's nothing but vines, bushes, trees, and more vines.

Hang on...they're going over to a large group of vines. Wait, those vines are fake! The leopard pulls on the vine furthest to the left. causing the other vines to go up. It's a pulley system, but what was it covering?

A large steel door! Of course they would hide in this mountain! It's hardly near anyone and it's foliage is a perfect cover for their location. Clever.

The panther knocks on the door...but in a certain pattern: two knocks, pause, one knock, pause, three rapid knocks. Got it. The door slight opens enough for the three to slip in and have the door close immediately. The fake vines fall back down, completely covering the entrance the three mysterious men when through.

Something is pulling me to go further into it. I should just head back, but...this could be the risk I'm looking for...


	4. Save the Last One

**Author's Note: Sup guys. Sorry for the wait, I needed to think this one through. In the next few chapters, it may become confusing due to character reveals and backstories. There will also be a flashback, too. Any questions, PM me or ask in a review. Thanks.**

**Save the Last One**

(Cho)

A gust of air manages to blow through the door just before it seals up and locks. I look at the woman whom opened the door for us, it's a young looking fox. She's wearing a new outfit; green sleeveless robes, black and white necklace and black sash around her waist. Nice touch.

"How'd it go, boys?" she asks us as she twists the massive vault lock on the door.

"Without a hitch, Fei!" Tao loudly responds, knowing that we cant's be heard anymore.

"Except for that one guy I had to kill," I remind the optimistic feline. He always has a habit of overlooking bad details.

"Eh, so what? He serves jerks, he dies a jerk."

"That's not always the case," I tell him. He's still too overactive, he's probably trying to impress Fei still.

"Well, can't be helped now," Fei tells us. I look for our leopard friend, but he's already walking down the stairs down to the main floor. I swear, he's too anti-social.

"Kai, wait up!" I call out to him, but he continues to strut downward. I begin to jog down to try and catch up with him. "Where are you going?"

"To report in to Fang," is all I get out of him. I manage to catch up to his side as we make it to the main floor.

The main floor is basically a lobby. Everyone in the Coalition comes down here to either socialize or just relax. It's about a hundred by a hundred and has bamboo furniture scattered across. There's also water dispensers and cups for anybody if they want a drink. The entire base contains about forty-two bedrooms fit for a total of two hundred and eight people, two dining halls, two shower areas with restrooms, a massive training area, and an armory. Not bad for a mountain with a huge hole blown in 's unbelievable that it only took six months to build it all, even though Fang was the one who had a good portion of it completed.

There are only about ten or fifteen members in the main floor now, but it's normally full of people. Tao manages to catch up to Kai and I, a huge grin present on his face. I can't help myself.

"Okay...what are you so happy about?" I ask him. His grin widens even more.

"I know you probably won't believe this, but I just sealed myself a dinner date with Miss Fei up there," he answers.

"What?" I can't believe what I'm hearing. She's rejected him so many times before, why now? "How'd you manage that?"

"I worked my magic. You know the ladies can't resist the Tao charm."

"Either that or you bribed her," Kai murmured enough for us to hear.

I begin laughing hysterically. Who knew that this leopard that was quiet as a rock had a sense of humor.

"That was a good one, Kai," I comment him, but he just looks at me with that same cold look.

"What?" he responded, a little bit annoyed. I guess not.

"Forget it."

Seriously, why is Kai so serious all the time? I mean, sure, we aren't in the best of times right now, and seriousness is a must in order to complete our assignments, but all the time? I don't know what his life was before Death Day, but it couldn't have been a pretty one.

"Alright," Kai affirmed, to which Tao and I listened. "I'm gonna give the book and scroll to Fang, tell him that they might be of grave importance to Lord Kahn."

"Okay. You gonna meet us in dining hall? Grab some grub?" Tao innocently asks.

"No. I need to train more."

"COME ON. You always go to train. Why can't you just eat with us like a normal person?" I curiously ask him. He only shakes his head and begins to walk to Fang's room.

"'Cause I'm not normal..." I hear him whisper away.

He really must be that anti-social.

* * *

(Kai)

I look over my shoulder to see the others walk away in the opposite direction.

I wish I could tell them why I insist on training so much. It's not just because it makes me feel alive and well, but because I need to get stronger, faster, better. If I told them they wouldn't understand, and it's not like I would expect them to. Fang is the only one I've told, and that was a few days after Death Day. I told him because I respect him, and I respect him for one sentence he said to me those three years ago.

"We are both shaped by the loss of people we hold near and dear to ourselves."

That told me everything I needed to know about him. That's also how I knew I could trust him. He offered me to join this organization that day, but I refused. I told him that my journey needed to be traveled alone, and he respected my decision. But even though I thought I could follow my path and hope everything I needed would follow, I was wrong...dead wrong.

Fang somehow found me again, at the end of my ropes. He offered me another chance to join, to which I accepted. I mean, what choice did I have? But still, I only joined because he made me a promise. He promised me that I would get another shot at redemption...another shot at killing him. All I have to do is help kill his master, Lord Kahn. It was simple enough.

I continue to walk towards a gap in the wall across from the main entrance. I climb the short staircase about seven feet until I come to a stop in front of an oak wood door. I lightly tap on the wood with my knuckle while withdrawing the book and scroll from my back pocket. I wait for a few short moments until I hear his voice call from behind the door.

"It's open."

I reach down and turn the metal knob until the door quietly slides open. The room is decent sized(enough to fill about fifty people comfortably). There was concrete flooring to make the surface flat and even, but the walls were still awkwardly misshapen and still matched the exterior of the mountain. Holes were made in wall to my left side to act as windows so that light may protrude inward. There was a small table in the center, as well as book and scroll shelves around it.

At the table is a Dhole, an orange-furred descendant of the wolf, sitting down and examining a map of China. He's wearing his usual stuff: grey sleeveless vest with a black top inside, grey pants with legs that didn't go past the middle of his shins, a blue headband with a metal plate on it that has a bizarre looking flower engraved into it, and a necklace to match his soul blue eyes.

"Fang?" I say quietly, trying not to disturb whatever he may be doing. He looks up at me with his eyes glowing and a present grin bestowed upon his muzzle.

"Ah, Kai. I assume the infiltration went well?" he asks me while looking back down at his map.

"Just an average C-rank mission. Nothing unexpected," I reply as I approach the table slowly and place the two items in my hand on it. Fang twitches his eyes up quickly to see the scroll and book before snapping his eyes back down to his map again.

"I'm presume these are the items of importance you found in Liang's temple?" he questions.

"Yes," I reply as I now pull out a chair identical to his across from him. "Also, Cho thinks that they may have ties to each other." Still not paying attention. "The scroll is legible, but the book is completely incomprehensible. It's just a bunch of gibberish." He finally jolts his head up and takes the book and scroll from their resting place.

"There is no such thing as gibberish," he conveys while studying the two closely.

"That another one of your infinite philosophies?" I inquire. He looks back at me with an obscure twist in his brow.

"No, just an observation," he responds while flipping through the book's pages. He then puts that aside and rolls out the scroll. He scratches the back of his neck while looking just as stumped as I did when I first saw them. "Well, Cho might be correct, but there's no surefire way of knowing yet."

"I can go downstairs and refer to the scribes. They may have a clue as to what they are," I suggest, but he shakes his head vividly.

"Nah, these seem too complex for them too." Too complex for the scribes? Those guys are the brainiacs of this place, and even THEY wouldn't know what to do? Maybe there is more to this than I think. "Cho may be onto something, but we need more to go on. In the meantime-"

Fang is cut off by a wolf dashing in with sweat beading down the side of his forehead. He looks paranoid.

"Sir, we have a problem," was all he muttered before dashing back out the door again. I glance over at Fang again as we stand up and begin to walk out of the study room.

"Well, let's go see what all the fuss is about, Kai," he says while leading me out the door.

* * *

(Tigress)

Why didn't it work? I knocked in the correct pattern. They should have opened it up by now, or maybe they think I'm some sort of danger to them. I wouldn't harm them in any real matter, unless they threatened me first.

I try the knock once more. Nothing. Something strange is going on here.

Wait, I hear something...at my 4 o'clock. It's footsteps, crunching on the leaves around the ground. I snap my head over my shoulder quickly and assume a fighting stance, or at least one I think I remember. I get a clear look at who dare to protrude behind me.

A leopard who's paws are held to his side. His eyes were a heavy green, his black sleeved top was torn to a degree, as were his pants. He also had a scar below his left eye that took a minute to notice. He held his hands up at me to show that he didn't mean any trouble, but I couldn't give him the chance to fool me.

"Whoa, calm yourself," he says politely, but still a bit of strength in his voice. "Take it easy, lady."

"Who a-"

_WHACK!_

I'm cut off by a hard object crushing the back of my skull. I limp over and slam into the solid ground, lying there face down in the dirt. I can't feel anything in my body, my eyes are hardly open, and my ears are the only things that manage to work. I don't even have the ability to flip myself over to face my attacker. I can manage to hear them talking among themselves.

"Nice work, Kai," I can hear a different voice echo. I'm slowly slipping into an unconscious state, unable to try and stay awake.

"Yeah, whatever gets it done," I here "Kai" respond deeply. "I'll have someone drop her off a few miles from here."

"Wait, I need to check if she's okay." I can feel a set of paws begin patter around my legs and arms. If I wasn't helpless right now I'd kick that bozo in the head.

"Do we care?" the Kai character asks harshly. I can now feel the hands on me turn my shoulder, laying me on my back. My eyes can't make out the figures. I see the leopard, who is now just a greyish blur, and now I see an orange blur. I can see the blur come a little closer to my face and reproach back.

"Yeah...yeah, we do." That's all I hear before fading into a forced slumber I can no longer fight.

* * *

(Shifu)

I look out the window in Po's bedroom. The sun is just passing the line of the mountains, causing a purple-pink-yellow sky to surround it.

Where is Tigress? She was supposed to be back at least a half hour ago. It's like her to disobey me, or at least be late. I worried that she could have ran into trouble, or maybe she was kidnapped?! No no, Shifu. She wouldn't let anyone take. She would let them try, but they wouldn't prevail. She needs to return soon or else I'm going have to go after her myself.

I look down at Mei Ling, still lying asleep in the bed. I put a blanket over her so she wouldn't be subjected to weather being cast from the window.

She is so beautiful when she sleeps, even in her current state. I still stare at her lying there on her back, watching her chest rise with every breath she takes, and her ear twitch every once in a while, a common habit she would do. I don't, can't, won't take my my eyes off her, in case any thing may go the slightest bit wrong.

I hear someone approaching from behind me. I snap my head over for just a quick moment to observe who it was. It's Ping.

"Uh, Shifu. The others are heading home. They're waiting for you," he tells me softly. I look back at the goose to speak back.

"Tell...tell them that I'm going to stay here tonight..."

"O-okay. Stay as long as you need." Ping walks back downstairs to inform the others.

I turn my stiff gaze back to the fox, still admiring her beauty. I examine her forehead to see that she is beginning to sweat heavily. I place my hand on her head.

She's on fire! I quickly rip the cuffing off my left sleeve and dunk it in the glass of water I brought on the ground. I place the cloth on her skull, letting it rest.

She's only getting worse now. This is too hard to watch. What is wrong with her?!


	5. Growing Pains

**Author's note: Sup guys. Sorry I haven't posted, I went on a trip to Alaska which really sucked so I couldn't update. But hopefully this extra special chapter will make up for it. If you have any questions or suggestions, please PM or review. Enjoy.**

**Growing Pains**

(Tigress)

My head is pounding.

The pain is bearable, but it's still pain. I begin to regain control of my eyelids and force them open, yet I still see black. I'm blindfolded. I can feel rope wrapped tightly around my wrists behind my back, the same is done to my ankles. Probably to keep me from going ballistic when I wake, smart move.

I feel other arms wrapping around my shoulders, dragging me around like a sack of garbage. I also hear small chatter among the two bozos tugging me around. What are they saying? Where are they taking me? Oh, who the heck cares, I need to get out of this bind!

I wiggle around a bit, squirming to rip free from the rope, but the rope proves to be tougher. I now shake around rapidly to try and get the draggers off, but their grip is too firm to break.

"Hey!" I hear from my left side. "Quit your squirmin' around or else I'll knock you senseless again!" That voice...it's familiar. Wait, that's the leopard who confronted me at the door. That jerk.

"Calm down, Kai," I hear from my right side now. His voice is much more relaxed and less threatening than 'Kai's'. "We have no reason to resort to violence. Fang wished to see her personally."

"Calm down? The first intruder in months that we let live is in our home. How can I be calm?!" I hear Kai retort.

"By simply not blowing a gasket," I hear the other say jokingly. Kai snorts at his joke; he must be the serious one around here.

Alright, that's it. I'm done being silent.

"What do you want with me?" I snarl, trying to sound a little bit intimidating. No response.

Well, I got what I wanted. A risk. And it's led me straight into what possibly could be the end my ropes. I know nothing about these guys; their purpose, their background, their names. This was not a mission, if it was then I would have had more information and been more prepared to handle these kinds of situations. But this isn't time where sun shines on a happy go lucky village and is oblivious to its daily dangers. This isn't the time of the Jade Palace masters, or any master for that matter, but evil fools and the fools that follow.

What was I thinking?...What can one cat that isn't sure of herself do to an entire army?...

I can feel the two captors lift me higher. They stand me on my feet and slowly set me into a chair. They release their grip on me allowing me to settle in.

"Here she is, Fang," I hear Kai say from behind me.

"Remove her blindfold," a third voice commands from in front of me. I feel a blade brush against my skin, causing me to shiver at its presence. In a sudden motion, the strand of cloth that was once on my eyes falls down onto my lap.

I give my pupils a chance to adjust to light in the small room. Once I can see clearly, I glance all around observing every detail. The walls and floor are all made of stone. The chair I sat in was made of what looked like oak wood, as was the table that was placed in front of me.

I look over my shoulder at the two that dragged me in here. The leopard, Kai, and a brown labrador. Wait...these are the two I saw walk into the mountain. Not shocked that they're here.

But I don't notice the orange canine across the table until he speaks up.

"Relax," the canine says calmly with straight expression. Wait...is this guy a...Dhole? I thought they died out years ago. "You are in safe hands. Well, maybe safe is the wrong way to put it."

"Is there anything else we can do tonight, Commander?" I hear the calm voice of the dog behind me ask. The dhole leans back in his chair while blowing into the air, obviously trying to think.

"Well, you cut the formalities in front of the lady. Other than that, you can go home for the night."

"Thank you, Fang," the lab coveys while walking out the door to the left of me. I look over at the leopard who does not move an inch. He stands their stiff as a board with his arms crossed and that look of fire in his eyes still remaining present.

"You may go too, Kai."

"No," he barks back, still not moving a muscle. "I want to know what she's doing here."

"She is of no danger."

"She's an outsider."

"So were you."

That last retort shut the feline up tight. Kai exhales heavily and finally lets his posture fall.

"But this is different. She's here for reasons we don't have a clue about. I'm saying that she's a danger to anyone...I'm just concerned." This was the first time I ever heard Kai sound genuine and not full of anger. Reminds me of myself years ago.

"I promise you, Kai," the canine softly asserted. "There's isn't any reason to be concerned. I brought her in for a reason."

"Why?" Kai spat back. There's that fire again. I look over at the supposed commander who is chuckling to himself. He caught his breath for a moment before responding.

"She is a possible asset." Kai sat back for a moment, not buying it. "Please, Kai. Cut the ropes and leave me to her. She and I have much to discuss."

Kai snarls and moves behind me with his knife out. He removes the ropes around my ankles and wrists before strolling toward the door. He swears under his breath as he disappears behind the oak wood door. I feel around my hands and feet to make sure that I could still feel them.

"Master Tigress of the Jade Palace in the Valley of Peace." I snap my head up to see the dhole now dug into a scroll. Wait, where'd he get that? "Brought up in Bao Gu Orphanage to age of 10. Adopted by Master Shifu after training with him for several months prior. Currently 30 years of age. Declared a master in her teenage years, became a member of the esteemed kung fu squad known as the Furious Five shortly after. Current status remains as Master at the Jade Palace."

How-How did he get that information? Where did that scroll come from?! Who is this guy? My expression must have showed my thoughts. He closes the scroll and lays it gently on the table. He humphs to himself quietly.

"Last recorded document of your personal file."

"How did you get that?" I question him. He smirks again continues to lean back in his chair with his hands folded in his lap.

"One of our members was a scribe. It was his job to record the important aspects of kung fu masters, generals, emperors. Guys of that nature, or in this case, girl." His response just left me with more questions.

"Members?" I say, obviously confused by his explanation.

"I'll explain more later." Yeah, that'll help. "Anyhow, as you may have guessed, my name is Fang."

"Ah, and you're the leader here?"

"Yes. How'd you guess?" he sarcastically conveys. "Anyway, before we become acquainted, do you mind if I ask what you're doing here?"

I sat and thought for a moment. I try really hard to think of the reason. It's not coming to me. Could I have forgotten when I was knock unconscious?

"What AM I doing here?" I find myself asking. Wait... risk... "Risk..." I whisper just loud enough for him to hear. He now draws an undesirable frown.

"Really? Risk...I assume that word means something to you." He picks up the scroll again starts zipping his eyes around it. He begins pace around out of his chair. "Would you often say that risk often runs hand in hand with curiosity?"

"...Yes, I suppose..." I answer unevenly, not sure as to what he was thinking.

"Huh, that's funny," he responds with the scroll covering his face. "It says here in the personality traits section that you were a complete stranger to curiosity, never wanting to ask unnecessary questions or beat around the bush too much. However, it does say in here that you took on the most dangerous missions even when they were sometimes deemed suicide. You would even go alone if it need be."

That scroll has that much information on me?

"Would you say that accepting suicide missions by yourself is a risk?" he asks me, revealing his face from behind the paper.

"Well, yes, but what does-"

"It's strange to see that you are attracted risks but find an extreme dispersal to being curious, even though they are two sides of the same coin in a way."

Silence clouds the room for a minute. His words hung in the air like a dry scent that had no business being there. We stared at each other for moment before he broke out into utter laughter.

"What's so funny?!" I demand. He exhales and gives me a warm look.

"This! This entire conversation! It's futile attempts to learn more about you!" he continues to crack up, leaving me with a confusing anger. "Well, I've asked you a couple questions so I assume you would like the same, but I assure you that I can answer all your questions with another question."

"Really?" I say, wanting to learn more about this strange man. "I'd prefer you not."

"Well, fine. We can do this the long way if you prefer. Question by question."

I give him a stern look as he takes a seat on the table.

"Actually, I just have one," I say while keeping my pupils pointed at him. He motions for me ask away, giving his full attention to me.

"When I first saw your 'members', they were invading Liang's temple. That gave me the notion that they weren't Quan-Lo. I followed them out here to this...place, and I see that something bigger is going on here. So, this draws me to wonder: What is your purpose, Fang?"

Fang smiles lightly, closing his eyes. That must've reminded him of something. He looks back at me and approaches the door.

"Come, let's go for a walk."

* * *

(Mei Ling)

Ugh, the throbbing pain in my head won't go away, and it gets worse by the day. I'd try to open my eyes, but the sudden light might just make the pain increase. My stomach doesn't feel amazing either; I can't hold down my food and even if I could, it doesn't solve my queasiness. My muscles are reduced to just limbs that serve little purpose other than moving and breathing, and they're even doing a terrible job at that.

Okay let's do it. Open your eyes on three. Ready, 1...2...3!

My eye lids manage to peel back enough for me to get a glare of the candle light next to me in them. That hurts even more now. It takes a longer than usual amount of time until my pupils dilate enough to withstand the candle's seemingly powerful light.

Alright, arms. Push up on three. 1...2...3!

Weakly, my arms make an attempt to shove my body weight off the bed. I manage to make it up just past a few inches before plopping down onto the soft cushioning below my frame.

Okay, once more with STRENGTH. 1...2...3!

The muscles in my biceps give out as much power as they can, allowing me to at last sit up right. Finally, now is the hardest part; legs.

Well then, legs. I'm counting on you, so don't fail me. You can do it. 1...2...3!

I turn my hips and let my legs hover over the side of the bed frame. I take a breath and push off with my arms. My feet seem to slam on the ground, causing my legs to follow them to the ground. I fall forward on my chest, grunting as I hit the unforgiving floor with no remorse.

Great, I can't even stand on my own two feet at this point. I place my paws underneath me and shove myself off the floor and onto my knees. I look across from me to see the mirror-desk in the corner.

I just need to get to that drawer. I know Foofy left pain killers in there. Just need to walk a few feet and take them.

My left leg shoots forward and pushes up painfully, but successfully. My right leg props back to support my weight, making my muscles ache in more pain. I exhale deeply before I begin my long journey to the desk. Unbelievable.

Right. Left. Right. Left. Right.

Almost there, Mei. Just a few more feet.

Left. Right. Left.

I nearly collapse as make the finally 'leap' to the desk, using it to support my legs up. At least I didn't fall again. Okay focus, medicine.

I pull out the first drawer to find a small glass bottle with a liquid sealed up tight inside. The label on the bottle said, "Herbal Concoction. For pain of head." I uncork the top and swallow half the bottle. That might be an overdose but at this point, nothing is too much. I seal it back up and slide it into the drawer before closing it shut.

My eyes seem to wonder as I find myself staring into the mirror at my reflection, not noticing until I rubbed my eyes tiredly.

Ugh, I look worse than I feel.

I begin to turn from the reflection, but snap my eyes to look back at themselves. Wait...WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM?!

Their bloodshot, and not the normal pink, they're bright red! My pupils are so big that they cover my corneas completely, making it a large black dot. The veins around my eyes are bulging! Blood what racing through them so rapidly they were popping out. And now staring at myself in the mirror was beginning to hurt, LITERALLY! My head was throbbing twice as hard and pounding twice as rough!

I force myself away from the reflection and find myself bending over on the ground. I begin to feel a rising in my throat and before I can stop myself, I vomit all over the ground in front me. Then what I saw shocked me the most. It wasn't vomit...it's BLOOD.

WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?!


	6. Just Give Me a Reason

(Kai - Age 8 / 9 years before Death-Day)

Wow, the sky is so blue today! It's almost like the color of ocean, but without all the boats. There's like, no clouds out either, so it makes the sky look even more cool! The sun is in the middle of it all, looking so amazing. Just looking at all the average things in nature makes me feel so small, but it's so awesome at the same time!

"Hey, Kai!" I hear someone call out to me. I shift my head down from staring at the beautiful sky to see a leopard just like me wave at me. It's my brother. "You comin' slow poke?!" he taunts while sprinting into the forest. My signature grin shows again as I follow him into the trees.

"Wait up, Jhong!" I shout back, dodging tree masses and rocks on the ground. I see him just a little bit ahead of me, his tail giving him away.

I continue to burst through the life-like trees, stealing my gaze every once and a while. The trees are just as cool as the sky, I mean, it's like their a living thing too! Their leaves can be their hair, their bark is the cloths, and their branches and roots can be like arms and legs! We're not so different.

Wait, where did Jhong go? The lug-nut didn't even bother to slow down even a little bit. Ah, forget it; I'll get him back soon!

After sprinting another couple minutes, I found him, perched on a big rock about three times my size, or twice his. In front of the rock is a small pond maybe only twenty yards long. On the water was a leopard girl, just a little younger than my brother. She was pretty, almost like mom when she was young. She was wearing a longish yellow dress that almost touched the water.

Wait, SHE'S ON THE WATER?!

"Whooooaaaaa..." I stupidly said with my jaw hung like laundry. She looked at me with her calm amber eyes, making me smile a little bit.

"The Water Skipper Technique," she said while jumping from the center of the pond onto the rock next to Jhong.

"Developed by Grand master Makau almost two-hundred years ago," Jhong continued for her. "He perfected it after ten years of complete silence and concentration it a freezing mountain summit."

"That's...so cool!" I shout while staring at the water with illustrious wonder. "Can you teach me? Can you teach me? Please, please! Teach me!"

"Well, duh," Jhong says while wrapping his arm around the girl's neck. "Why do you think I dragged you out here? Chun-Li is going to show you how." Chun-Li looks at me with a big smile.

"Sweet! Can we do it now? Huh? Can we?" I beg my brother's girlfriend endlessly, making her giggle wildly.

"Okay, okay, honey!" she finally confirms as she slides down the boulder next to me.

"Yay!"

"Okay, now watch as I do, Kai," she says while slowly stepping onto the once still pond water. "Do you remember what your dad taught you about chi?"

"Yup, uhuh! It's the natural life force that is in all living beings!" I say proudly like I'm back in school.

"Right, and you remember when he showed you how to make that energy tangible?" she asks, curving her brow.

"Ummm, I don't really like citrus fruit..."

"No! _Tangible, _not tangerine! It means to make it physical and able to see it and feel it." Boy don't I feel stupid.

"Oh, yeah! I can do that!"

"Okay," she responds while stepping further back into pond. "Just do that, but transfer the chi to your feet. Once you have enough energy on your feet, try and walk on the water."

"Alright!"

I close my eyes tight and try to concentrate. Okay, now just take all that chi energy and just throw it down to your feet, Kai. I feel the energy surge through my chest and begin to race all across my limbs, almost like it's trying to explode inside me. My feet begin to slowly take the chi and physically appear. I open my eyes...I did it! My chi, it's surging all around my feet and glowing a bright blue! But that's just the easy part.

I drag my leg across the ground, trying not to lose my focus or accidentally hurt myself. I take my first step on the water. It feels no different than when I was on the solid ground. Second step, third step, fourth all the same as the first. I'm walking on water! This is so freaking awe-

SPLOOSH

Falling into the water, I became engulfed in the pond's vast wetness. I pop my head out from the surface to catch my breath. I can't contain my excitement and rage.

"OH MY GOD! Did you see that?! I was so flippin' close! I was like four feet away and I just fell-"

"Calm down, bro," I look over and see my brother smirking at me. "You did fine. You just lost your focus, which isn't surprising to any extent."

"Hey! You try concentrating when your walking on the unwalkable!" I shout back. He just smiles more.

In one quick leap, he springs forward from the boulder and lands perfectly next to Chun-Li. He didn't even try.

"Show off..." I mutter while digging myself out of the rather refreshing water. I turn my head to see the two of them kissing each other like chocolate. "EEEUUCH," I spew loud enough for them to here. The glance over to me before Jhong speaks again.

"Hey, you'll be into girls when you're fifteen."

"Yeah maybe, but don't ruin it for me by making me look at you two eat each other's face off."

"Hey, you're the one that looked over here, ya perv. I aughta sock ya one!"

Aaaahhhh! Jhong's now on a full sprint at me. I try to run but he's tackled me to the ground and pinned me by the shoulders.

"Get off! Before I- AH-HAHAHAHAHA-HAHA!"

Aw man, now he's tickling me! What a jerk.

"I'm gonna kick your butt!" I kept saying between breaths. He finally lets go of me and throws me on his shoulders and begins to run around wildly.

"I love ya, bro," I here him say through the wind blasting my ears.

"I love you too, Jhong."

* * *

(Tigress / Present Day)

"It all started the day your friend died, trying to save us."

That's how Fang started his explanation. I had tried to break in, failed miserably, dragged to an interrogation, and now being treated like a house guest. It was all very confusing, but maybe I should listen to him instead of thinking to myself. He might actually make sense. I followed him to a large room that he called, "The War Room", it was filled with book shelves and scrolls, most of which looked very old and dusty.

"What he showed that day was something that will not ever be forgotten: Freedom must be fought for. He showed us that hope and perseverance are the only things you need to free yourself from any form of oppression." He then shot me a look of curiosity, followed by a smile. "Tell me, what's your definition of free?"

"Well, um..." He did leave me dumbstruck. I didn't know if this was rhetorical or a serious question.

"Freedom," he says loudly, as if I wasn't close enough to hear. "...is right to live without an agenda of someone else's accord." So he was serious. "But what happens when someone strips that right from you and replaces is with fear? Are we suppose to bow down with our tails between our legs, hand our lives over on a silver platter and beg for sweet mercy?...Or do we say no... lift our heads up, stare into the eyes of fear and spit in its face as we stand taller than it?!"

I stare at fang for a quick moment. His exterior shows him to be soft and caring, almost childish, but the way he displayed his feeling on freedom mad me question my assumption. He looked at me with flame florescent eyes, an obvious sign of passion. Maybe there's more to him than I previously thought. He takes a breathe and changes his expression to smile again.

"I created this coalition for that exact purpose. For three years, we have been secretly sabotaging and planning against Khan's rule. We will eventually destroy his empire, but we require more strength, more support. That is why I have brought you in here."

So he needs my help...a little surprising. At first I thought he was powerful and had enough of an army to launch a massive attack, but he needs more?

"You're requesting my help?" I ask him, keeping my guard high.

"Yes. Everyone here has something against Khan and individually, we're outmatched. But if we fight as one, we may have a chance."

"I was always told that revenge solves nothing, it's only a blade that often turns on the wielder." I say this, feeling smart and a bit cocky.

"Ah, yes, but anger is what fuels the blade. If we replace that with passion for something worth fighting for, the blades cuts in our favor."

Once again, his intelligence and wisdom intrigues me. Fang obviously understands a lot for being as young as he is. After a few subsiding moments of silence, he speaks again.

"Come, let me show you the training room. I think you'll be impressed."

* * *

Fang takes me to a large, engulfing stone training hall. I've never seen a training hall this massive, not even in the Jade Palace. There's weapon racks with various assortments, training dummies, obstacles like spikes and automatic crossbows, and even a weight set near the weapons. We were on a balcony about thirty feet off the ground, gazing over the single occupant that remained there. He rammed through obstacles and smacked dummies with incredible force, but not so much accuracy. He looked strong, but sloppy.

"Kai!" The leopard cranes his head back and glares at Fang, giving him a look a stern coldness. "I know you live here, but if you spend another night in this place alone, I'm moving your bed in." Kai simply snorts and proceeds back to his dummies while Fang leads me out of the training hall.

"So, he lives here?" I ask the dhole, trying to sound polite.

"He has no other place to go. I offered him a room near the utilities lockers, but he's never there, and when he is, it's like a private sanctum."

"What's his story?" Fang stopped for a moment, then looked at me sincerely.

"I think it's best if he tells you himself." Wow, I obviously hit something there. "Anyway allow me to tell you more of the Freedom Fighters."

"I'm listening."

"We run on a very codependent agenda, everyone needs to do there share in order to keep this place running at full efficiency."

"You have different people for different jobs."

"Precisely. Some people don't prefer to be the ones on the front line completing missions, so I assign them to jobs that replicate their jobs on the outside; farmers and chefs are in charge of food, scripts are in charge information detail, and soldiers are...well you get the idea."

"Right." The man made a lot of sense. I wonder what he must've done before Khan's rule? General? Personal guard? Maybe even a Kung Fu master? "So, what did YOU do before you formed the coalition?" Fang smirks and speaks confidently.

"A school teacher."

I feel like my mind was literally just blown.

* * *

(Mei Ling)

Blood...that's all I can see. It flows from my mouth like a river, causing me more and more pain by the second. I'm afraid to move...afraid that I'll just make the suffering worse.

I'm beggining to go blind...vision blurring...ears deafening...

Is this it?... Is this how I will end?...Lying on the ground in a pool of my own blood.

Although my ears are deaf, I hear a voice...an unfamiliar voice, yet strangely familiar. I can hear the voice calling me.

_"Pain is nothing but an obstacle. This pain you are feeling is for the weak. Only the strong deserve its reward."_

I don't know what the voice means...or why it is speaking to me...but it will not matter soon. I can feel the pain strangle me tightly.

I suddenly here another voice...it's calling my name, and it's much more familiar to me...

_"Mei Ling! No! Please don't do this! I can't lose you! Not now! Please!:_

I suddenly feel someone wrappimg me in their arms...hugging me close to them, refusing to let go. Is...is that Shifu?...

_"Please... don't die...don't die... I love you too much...please don't leave me..."_

It is him...and he loves me. No...no, I will not surcome to this pain! Not anymore! I must stay alive...for Shifu...I must survive...for him. Do you here me?!

I WILL NOT DIE.


	7. Safe & Sound

**Safe & Sound**

(Tigress)

A brightness crashes into my eyes, forcing me to open them. My I lean up from my cot, stretching my arms and legs. It's early in the morning according to the sun barely peering over the edge of the horizon I see out my stone-carved window.

Even when I don't have a schedule, I wake up early. I guess it's just a habit I've never managed to shake.

It was nice of Fang to let me stay the night here in the coalition headquarters, and in his room too. I didn't ask for his room, he just insisted I take it, and he didn't look like he was taking no for an answer. His room is rather plain, but it's not like I have any room to talk, even my room at my new home is nothing but a bed and a door. But heck, I'm lucky to even have my room at this point.

I shift my legs out of his cot and stand up, yawning as I did so. Fang said that he would find someplace else to rest, but he said that there wasn't any other rooms in the HQ. I wonder where he is now?

I slowly open the door walk down the narrow hallway to the lobby. I step out into the lobby to see none other than the orange canine himself, fiddling with a blade in his hand. It was curved but in the wrong direction, had a finger ring on the end of the handle and it was of a plain black color. Fang's spinning it back and forth with his finger, he also had a black book in his hand with a golden decor on it and a symbol I couldn't read.

"How'd you sleep?" I froze in my place. How'd he know I was behind him, he didn't even turn his head... Maybe I'll just ignore it for now.

"Great. You?"

"I don't."

"What?"

"I haven't slept in over twenty-five years."

"Hehe, yeah. I guess for most sleep is just a journey they don't want to take," I reply, jokingly. He looks at me with a smile, but a stern smile, not stopping his knife spinning.

"I'm not joking, Tigress. I literally haven't slept in two and a half decades."

"W-wait, what?!" I say in shock. "How...how is that even possible?"

"It's actually quite simple," he explains, still not stopping the twirling blade in his fingers. "I was born with something known as advanced over-developed insomnia. It's a rare disorder that one in every six-hundred thousand are born with."

"That's...intense. How'd you stay sane without sleep?" I ask, still a bit dumbfounded that he has this strange deformity.

"That is a question I get asked a lot. In fact, fifty percent of those with advanced over-developed insomnia commit suicide because they eventually go insane."

"So what's different with you?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I have a theory; If I keep my mind busy, but not over-active with thinking, then perhaps I won't lose my sanity. Kind of like those people who do math in waiting rooms to keep occupied. Hence me doing this..." He pointed to the spinning blade, finally halting its movement.

"I guess that makes enough sense..." I say unevenly, still a little wonderous about his insomnia. Then I look at the blade in his paw. "That's a nice piece."

"Thanks," he says while looking at it with prowess. "It's a karambit, got it from an Indonesian salesman passing through. It's probably one of my most prized in my collection. Want to see it?"

"I would, but I need to get to the noodle shop. I bet my mast-" I pause the last word, remembering that there were no more masters anymore. "Shifu, is probably worrying about me." Fang gives me a surprised look with a smile.

"Ah, he's still alive? And people had said he dropped off the face of the earth." I shrug in reply and begin to stroll near the front door.

"Thank you for the stay."

Fang now suddenly picks up his step and catches up with me. What does he want now?

"Let me escort you there."

"Um, I can get there on my own. I'm fine."

"I know, but I need to keep pre-occupied, remember? A what better way than to walk with you to work?"

Okay, I need to think this through...I've never before been treated with this amount of kindness, nor have I met someone this caring. Normally, trusting someone like this risky, assuming that they're after something else. Usually, I'm always right about it, but something spoke out with Fang. Not just his supposed leadership with a group of rebels, nor it be his somewhat gentle personality...but his eyes. I glance at his eyes and I see something all too familiar. For a small moment, I see a flash of Po in my head, his eyes showing the same expression as Fang's. Is that why I should trust him? Because he reminds me of Po? No...because he reminds me of a very good friend. I smile lightly.

"I don't see anything wrong with that."

* * *

(Shifu)

Last night...that was too close...too close...

I leave her alone for an hour and I return to find her lying unconscious in a puddle of her own blood. I thought she had literally died in my arms, but something brought her back, and I won't question it.

But now, I only worry about Tigress. She has been gone all night, supposedly spending her time at the graveyard. I was going to go out and search for her last night, but I found Mei Ling on the ground, bleeding out of her mouth. She must return soon, or else I'm going to have a panic attack. So far, my best way of coping with it is talking to the others about it, but they're just as concerned as I am.

"Do you think she was taken?" Crane asks, his voice cracking in worry.

"I don't know," I say weakly, still taking in everything that's happened in the last few hours. "It's possible..."

"No way, Tigress wouldn't be captured! She wouldn't let the perp keep his hands after that!" Mantis says, still trying to stay optimistic.

"I just want her back here safely," Viper cracks quietly, on the verge of tears.

"I can search for her?" Monkey asks me timidly. I would have told him not to, but a familiar voice told him not to.

"No need to."

We all look from the large table in the shop to Tigress, standing in the archway with an orange canine next to her. Almost at once we all crowded her, bombing her with questions. She was trying to answer but no one would take it easy.

"Where have you been?!" "Are you okay?" "Why were you out so late?!" "Did you get hurt?"

Eventually, everyone settled down and just became thankful that she was okay, and as was I, but of course questions needed answers. I approached her from behind everyone else, showing what I hope is a face of concern.

"I'm glad you're alright...but where were you?" Tigress looked at me with this broken expression, almost lost in her search for an answer. She tried to ponder her thoughts, but she never really spoke. That was when the canine next to her finally spoke.

"She was with me, at my house. I met her at the graveyard last night and eventually spoke to her and invited her to eat with my family. It was getting late so I decided to give her my room for the night. I apologize for the inconvenience."

I stood there for a moment, very confused by the man's words. I feel like my brow was actually twitching.

"I'm-I'm sorry, who are you?" I ask him, trying not to sound rude, but not really.

"Fang, Fang Hwan-Pak, sir!" His expression immediately lit up as he extended his hand out to me. I simply stared him down, trying to make him feel awkward, an old drill technique. However, he didn't let up. His hand stayed there, waiting for me to shake. It was now me feeling awkward.

"Um, so master," Tigress says from the side. Thank god, she interrupted. "How is Mei Ling holding up?"

Oh, no. Maybe I'm not so lucky...

* * *

(Fang)

I'm looking at the fox lying in the bed, and I can honestly say that she's had better days. I see her magenta robes stained in bright red blood, her face is flushing white, and here breathing is plainly irregular.

As I peer from the top of the stairs to the room, all the former masters and a goose surround her. I know I should probably just leave them, but I know what I can do to help. I just need a little closer.

I climb up and arch my head over everyone to get another look at the fox. I eventually manage to skim past the others and stand next to Shifu.

"Excuse me, Shifu?" I get his attention. He looks at me sorrowfully, he must have a strong bond with her if he looks this sad. "I know this may sound strange and hard to believe, but I may have a solution to her ailments." He looks at me, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if you let me examine her, I may be able to create a remedy." His face lightens, but only slightly.

"A cure?"

"...Maybe, but to examine her," I tell him quietly.

"How would you know what to do?"

"I'm was trained in medicine by Scorpion, before she stung herself and went rogue."

That info sent Shifu into some kind of shocked trance. I said _before _she stung herself, didn't I?

"Don't worry," I assured him. "I know what I'm doing."

Scorpion taught me all she knew about medicine and healing. She came to my former home, the Khasm of Lightning, on some sort of journey to discover new medical herbs. I ran into her at a farmer's market buying herbs from my friend's shop. I was only fifteen at the time, but she still said I had potential for medicine. So when she offered to teach me in the ways of healing, it's not like I could say no, right? In the short six months I studied under her, she taught me every remedy and healing supliment she had ever developed.

"...You better know what you're doing..." Shifu said, giving me permission. I gave him an assuring smile and stepped forward to kneel down next to the sick canine.

I put my hand on her head...she's burning up. What about her blood pressure?...faintly low. Breathing?... Uneven.

"What's her name?" I ask Shifu, practically breathing down my neck at this point.

"Mei Ling," he whispers faintly. Hmm...why's that name sound familiar?

I snap near her ear, making her head twist in the direction. I snap near the other ear, same jolt. Okay, her hearing is still intact. After assessing the situation, I have there's only one logical answer: River Fever. But that doesn't add up for two reasons. Her species is immune, and she'd be dead already. Wait...the blood! I examine her mouth and see small amounts of dry blood resting on her lips. That's...no, couldn't be. It's definitly ticumitus, an infection caused by the clogging of blood and chi lines...but it's only happened to those with a special marking...almost like a curse. But they died out years-

"Well?" I hear Shifu asking sternly next to me. "Do you have any solution, Fang?"

"Um, yes, well no, but kind of," I respond, a bit rushed. "She definitly has an infection known as ticumitus. I know a temporary remedy that will ease her pain dramatically, but I need supplies for the mix."

"We can get them!" Viper suggests eagerly. "Just tell us and we'll be back in no time at all!"

"Okay, I need bok choy, lemongrass, green tea, cabbage, and the dew of a grinco leaf."

"On it!"

And like that, the room was clear, leaving only me and Mei Ling there. I can't help but stare at her suspiciously. It may be just a hunch...but I'm not sold that ticumitus just came around randomly. Something else might be happening to her.


End file.
